Strade Bianche 2017: Kwiatkowski solos to victory

The Strade Bianche is a ceaseless onslaught in the picturesque Tuscan hills. Michal Kwiatkowski is in a class of his own and takes his second win in Siena in his career. Van Avermaet finishes in second, Wellens in third.(Slideshow route/profile)

Race report The first proper gap is created by Thibaut Pinot, Simone Andreetta, Marco Frapporti, Jose Goncalves, Truls Korsaeth and Quentin Jaregui. They race to a maximum lead of 7 minutes.

When it starts to rain the bunch breaks. Sagan winds up in a chasing group and he abandons. Pre-race favourites Stybar and Van Avermaet are in the first chasing group. On the ‘Cancellara mud road’, with around 50 kms left, Wellens accelerates and the only riders able to respond are Van Avermaet, Stybar, Kwiatkowski and Durbridge. Benoot and Dumoulin hook up a little later, while Boasson Hagen bridges over also. Along with others Juul-Jensen is another spark of fresh blood in the chasing group.

After sector 10 it’s plain and clear the winner of the 2017 Strade Bianche will go by the name of Wellens, Van Avermaet, Kwiatkowski, Stybar, Dumoulin, Durbridge or Juul-Jensen.

Kwiatkowski goes solo with 16 kms and one gravel sector to go. Stybar, Van Avermaet and Wellens are the first chasers, but instead of closing the gap they are half a minute down on the leader when hitting the last climb into Siena.

After compelling racing Kwiatkowski pockets his second win in Strade Bianche. One more to go and he is aligned with Fabian Cancellara, the retired Swiss who is record holder with three victories in the ‘Race on White Roads’.